USA > Illinois > Woodford County > The Past and present of Woodford County, Illinois : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c.; a directory of its tax-payers; war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics etc > Part 29
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The first session of the Circuit Court of Woodford County, held after organization, was noted for having a little suit tried in it, in which two witnesses from this township were called to testify, viz. : C. A. Genoways and Austin Crocker. The origin and nature of this suit our informant had forgotten.
It is always sad to write of decay. This little village, once a busy place, and equal in importance as a shipping point to any place on the river, has long since passed the zenith of its prosperity. Its former prosperity has dwindled down to a few small stores, and a few other lines of trade equally limited. At present, the business is distributed as follows: Three general stores, three saloons, two blacksmith shops, two wagon shops, one harness shop, two shoe shops. Lewis Williams and John Ege both handle grain still, but in a small way. There is one physician in the place, but neither a preacher nor a lawyer, nor even a church, except the Town Hall.
ORIGIN OF NAME.
The name of Spring Bay is derived from the beautiful little bay in the river at this place, and the numerous springs within its compass that supply the water when the river is too low to run over the "bar " between it and the outward limits of the bay. It is estimated that the waters from these springs, if it could be utilized, would be equal to 100 horse-power. Springs abound throughout the township, and are the operating force of several mills. These springs, with the little bay, as stated above, when taken together formed a name, which was bestowed on the settlement at an early day, then on the village when laid out, and afterward given to the township.
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
The beautiful little cemetery upon the hillside, a mile or two from the village, has become the resting place of many of the early pioneers mentioned in these pages. Peace to their ashes.
CRUGER TOWNSHIP.
Cruger is known as Fractional Township 26 north, Range 2 west, and ad- joins the northeast township of Tazewell County. From the date of township organization until 1870, Cruger was ineluded in Olio Township; and, like Olio, contains much of interest connected with the early history of Woodford County. A large portion of the section of Walnut Grove lies in this township. Through this vast forest the savages roamed at will, "monarchs of all they surveyed," for centuries, perhaps, before the foot of the "pale face " trod the soil; and in the shelter of this grove some of the first pioneers built their rnde cabins.
In 1830, there were hut a few families in that part of Walnut Grove now embraced in Cruger Township. of whom Daniel Meek, James Martin, Robert and James Bird, Joseph Dillon, the Moores, Nathan Owen, Thomas Deweese, James Rayburn and John Stevenson were about all living here at the period above mentioned. Of these, Deweese, Martin and Rayburn were from Indiana, while most of the others were from Kentucky. As to the time of their coming, there are none now living who can give the precise dates. Daniel Meek. one of those already alluded to, came from Kentucky, in 1827 ; but whether or not he was the first we are unable to say. He settled in Walnut Grove, and in 1836, removed to Knox County, near Abingdon, where he died, in March, 1874.
Henry B. Meek, a younger brother of Daniel Meek, eame from Pulaski County, Ky., with his father, when bnt 12 years old. The family settled in Jennings County, Ind., where they remained some years. In 1828, Mr. Henry Meek made a visit to this section-a kind of tour of inspection-and states that his brother Daniel, the Moores, and perhaps one or two other families, were about all the settlers then in Walnut Grove, and but very few others in what is now Woodford County. Mr. Meek returned to his home in Indiana ; and in 1830, came back and made a permanent settlement in Walnut Grove, and in what is now Cruger Township, in the Spring of that year. He built his first cabin on the site of his present elegant residence. When Mr. Meek brought his young wife to Illinois, they came through on horseback. She earried her baby on her horse, while he carried a pack, made up of sufficient elothing for their first Summer's use, and other housekeeping articles. In the Fall, he went back to Indiana, and brought with him, on his return, some live stock-hogs' and sheep. His hogs fattened on the "mast," which was abundant that Win- ter, and the next year he sold 100 pounds of bacon for $9.00, which he says was then considered a large sum of money. His eldest brother, Joseph Meek, with his family, came with him on his return from Indiana.
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J. Mo Fort MINONK
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
The land in this section, at the period of which we write, was not in market, nor did it come in until in 1832. When the land was put on sale, Meek went to Springfield, and, with $300 which he had laid up for the purpose, bought three " eighties," or 240 acres. This was a nucleus, to which he continued to add, until he owned 1,600 acres of choice lands. As his children grew up, and went out into the world to battle for themselves, he gave them farms, and thereby reduced his own to 700 acres.
Joseph Meek, an older brother of Henry's, came to Illinois, as already stated, in the Fall of 1830. On his arrival here, he bought a claim from one Joseph Dillon, upon which he still lives. And though he is an old man of four score years, his physical and mental activity is almost wonderful. " Uncle" Joseph Meek, as he is familiarly called, has set up his children with good farms, and still owns a large one himself, which he superintends, and upon which he labors every day. He stands high among his fellow men, and his word is his bond.
In 1835, the following additions had been made to the Walnut Grove settlement : Rev. John Oatman, Matthew Blair, Joshua Woosley, Daniel Travis, Cooley Curtis, Daniel Allison, Isaac Black, James Mitchell, Ben. Major, Wm. R. Willis, Rev. Wm. Davenport, Thomas Bullock, Elijah Dickinson, Benj. J. Radford, and it may be a few others now forgotten. The majority settled in what is now Cruger Township, and many of them came from Kentucky, a few from Indiana, and a few others from Tennessee. There were men of influence among them, who were active in their day, in every enterprise inaugurated to promote the interests of their country. Some of them have been noticed in other chapters of this work, in connection with the formation of Woodford County, the organization of Eureka College, and other undertakings requiring time, money and influence to successfully carry through.
Benjamin J. Radford came from Christian County, Kentucky, in 1834, to Illinois, where he settled in what is now Cruger Township, and lived a respected citizen until his death in September, 1857. He planted the first grove of locust trees in what is now Woodford County, a work that has since been fol- lowed by thousands. One of his sons is now President of Eureka College ; another is editor and proprietor of the Eureka Journal.
In the Winter of 1830-31, was the " deep snow," an event remembered by many old settlers, and an epoch from which their history all dates. So many years before, or so many years since the " deep snow," is their mode of designat- ing any particular event. The deer and other wild game became so tame that human beings were no longer objects of fear to them. A gang of half a dozen deer came to Henry Meek's, and he turned them in the lot with his sheep and calves, where they remained quite a while becoming so tame they would eat corn out of his hand.
When Mr. Meek settled in Walnut Grove, there was a ferry at Peoria, then called Fort Clarke, kept by a man named Gardis. Fort Clarke had one little store of general merchandise, which supplied the scattered settlers along the river
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
with store goods. One Vorris or Voorhees also kept a little store filled with housekeeping articles, much in demand as the country settled up. A man by the name of Matthews kept a ferry then at "The Narrows," a short distance above Fort Clarke.
The exact time of the first settlement in this township, like that of Olio, can- not, at this date, be correctly ascertained. There is no definite record now existing previous to the settlement of Daniel Meek, in 1827. His brothers think, however, that there were a few families in the Grove before the date of his coming there, but whom, or at what time they settled there, they are unable to tell.
THE FIRST JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.
Daniel Meek was the first Justice of the Peace in what is now called Cruger Township, and was appointed to the office in 1829. He was one of the first Justices in the territory now embraced in Woodford County, and exercised the functions of the office for twelve years or more before the formation of the county. Dr. James Mitchell, a kind of steam doctor, as they were called in those days, was the first physician in this Township, and came as early as the year 1835. Previous to his advent into the neighborhood, the healing art was practiced mostly by the good housewives with herbs and barks.
The first sermon in the town was preached by Rev. Peyton Mitchell, at the residence of Robert Bird. He was a Presbyterian and preached for some time in the neighborhood, about 1833-4. There were no churches here at this early period, and all religious services were held in the people's cabins.
Caroline, a daughter of Daniel Meek, was the first birth in Cruger Township. She was born January 15, 1828. The first death was that of James Bird, who- died in 1832.
The first marriage celebration was that of Hardin Oatman and Wilmorth Bird, in 1835. They were married by Rev. Wm. Davenport, who had recently settled in the neighborhood.
THE FIRST MILLS, ROADS, SCHOOLS, ETC.
In the early days of the settlement of this town, the people did their milling at a little horse mill, in what is now Olio Township, and alluded to in that part of this history. There was also a mill on Panther Creek, near the corner of what is now Palestine Township, which was extensively patronized by the Walnut Grove people.
The first public road through this section was laid out in 1836. The Viewers were Daniel Travis and James McClure. It commenced at what was known as Cruger's Bridge, on Walnut Creek, and extended to Washington, in Tazewell County. Four years later, the State road from Lexington to Wash- ington and Peoria, mention of which is made in the history of Olio Township, was opened through this township. These roads afforded the principal outlets of the settlers in removing their grain, until the era of railroads.
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
William Hoshor, mentioned in the general history of Woodford County as one of the pioneer school teachers, tanght the first school in what now com- prises Cruger Township. It was taught in 1831, in an old cabin, which stood up near the head of Walnut Grove. His school lasted but a short time, and soon after its suspension Joshua Woosley opened a school near the place where Hoshor had taught. The first house built in the neighborhood for school pur- poses was in 1834, and was near the spot where these schools were taught. Children were scareer here then than now, the schools were not very largely attended, and the house was changed into a dwelling after a few years' service as a school house.
When the first settlements were made in the territory of Cruger and Olio Townships, Indians were quite plenty along the Illinois River, and even about Walnut Grove, but were friendly and apparently harmless. When the Meekses came, in 1830, there still were many in this neighborhood. During the Winter of the " deep snow," they supplied the few settlers then scattered along the Grove with much of the meat used through the long period the snow lasted. Old Shab- bona came down the next Summer, with his "little family," and camped in Walnut Grove. But the people, fearing some treachery, drove him away, which made the old chief very angry.
THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
At the time of the Black Hawk war, Henry B. Meek was a Captain of the militia. When the news was brought to him that this noted warrior was at Pawpaw Grove, on Rock River, with his army, he was in the field planting corn. The order was delivered to him from the authorities for a certain number of men, and, like Gen. Putnam, when he received the news of the battle of Lexington,
" The plow was in the mid-furrow staid,"
and, removing his horse from the plow, and the harness from the horse, " he sped forth the fiery cross" to summon his " clans " to the council. They lost no time in obeying the call, and soon he was able to muster the number required (which, we believe. was twelve men), who were eager for the fray. He took them to Pekin, turned them over to the army going to " the front." and returned to his corn planting. Ilis squad was put under command of Major Stillman, and had the honor of participating in the battle of Pawpaw Grove, where the " pale faces " were defeated. They were only enlisted for thirty days, and soon after this battle their term of service expired, when they returned to their homes. None of the squad from the Walnut Grove settlement were either killed or wounded. A ludicrous story is told of this little campaign, in which the men from the Grove were engaged. The first night after the troops left Peoria, or Fort Clarke. for the seat of war, they encamped but a short distance from the place. Sentinels were posted and pickets thrown out in true military style. During the night an alarm, which finally proved to be false, was given, and
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
for a time considerable confusion prevailed. A Dr. Langworthy, of Peoria, who was attached to the army as a kind of surgeon, had tethered his horse with a long rope, that he might graze during the night. When the alarm was sounded, the valiant doctor mounted his horse, which in his fright he forgot to unloose, laid whip for dear life, and ran round and round in a circle, under the impression that he was rapidly placing danger behind him. It was soon discovered to be a false alarm, when some of the boys, taking in the absurdity of the doctor's maneuvers, cut the rope, and, taking a "bee line," he came into Peoria under whip and spur and in a high state of excitement, with the horrible news that " the troops had been surprised and butchered," while he alone, by a miracle, had escaped to tell the tale .. When the truth came out and the true state of the case known, the brave doctor was unable to endure the jeers of his friends, and sought a field undisturbed by the "horrors of war " and " war's alarms."
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The schools of this township are well supported, and are in a very flourish- ing condition. As a school township, Cruger embraces an equal portion in Tazewell County.
The total school fund of the entire township, including the part not in this county, is. $1,448 41
Valuation of school property (half of town). 5,300 00
Amount paid male teachers (half of town). 573 00
Amount paid female teachers (half of town) 923 00
Tax levy for support of schools (half of town)
1,550 00
Number of males under 21 years (half of town) 308
Number of females under 21 years (half of town). 284
Total under 21 years. 592
Number of males attending school (half of town). 175
Number of females attending school (half of town). 163
Total attending school (half of town). 338
Estimated value of school apparatus. $205 00
There are four school districts in the Cruger half of the township, with seven good, comfortable school houses. One of the districts is in union with Eureka Dis- trict, in the township of Olio, and is noticed under that head. . The school house in Cruger Village is a substantial frame building, and cost $700. The early record of schools, and the history of their first formation in the township, belongs to Olio, of which this was, until late years, a part. M. E. Davidson is School Treasurer, Supervisor of the Township and Justice of the Peace, and a man of considerable prominence in his neighborhood. F. J. Schreiber is Tax Collector, and furnishes the following :
Cruger Township-Personal tax .$1,900 00
Cruger Township-Real tax 3,207 92
Total Personal and Real.
$5,107 92
Town lots.
65 65
Total tax township and village. $5,173 57
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
Cruger Township's political and war record are so nearly identical with that of Olio Township that in the one we have the other, and a recapitulation here would be little else than to repeat that history.
Cruger has but one church within its limits, and it is on the line between this and Metamora Township, or within twenty or thirty yards of the line. It is one of the old churches of the county, and known as Mount Zion, of the Christian denomination, and is noticed in the general history.
ORGANIZATION OF CRUGER TOWNSHIP.
Crnger was detached from Olio Township, in the Fall of 1869, by a peti- tion to the Board of Supervisors, and the first election resulted as follows : George Boys, Supervisor; R. N. Radford, Collector; Jesse Meek, Assessor ; Peter Moyemont, Town Clerk ; A. P. Meek, R. C. Stewart and Thomas Ellis, Commissioners of Highways; John McPeak and John Kaufman, Justices of the Peace ; John Trimmer and Lewis Myers, Constables ; and on the 5th of April, 1870, the township was organized under these officers. The petition for this new township was gotten up through Messrs. Charles Kinnear, Hiram Par- ker, A. P. Leonard, George Boys, Jesse Meek and others ; and grew out of the fact that, in 1869, when the expediency of building the Chicago, Pekin & Southwestern Railroad was being pretty warmly discussed, this part of the town- ship bitterly opposed the measure, while the other section (now Olio) as strongly advocated it. The climax was reached by the township voting $100,000 stock to the proposed road ; which, however, through some technical illegality, finally fell through, and the township afterward voted $50,000 to the new road. But the carrying of the first vote afforded the pretext for petitioning for a separation ; the final result of which was, as above stated, the organization of Cruger Town- ship. The town took its name from the village of that name, and of the post office, which likewise bears the same name.
The railroads through this township are the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw, crossing it from east to west, and the Chicago, Pekin & Southwestern Railroad, which crosses it diagonally. A large lot of grain and stock is shipped from this town over these roads, the most of which, however, goes over the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railroad.
CRUGER VILLAGE.
This little village is situated on the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railroad, two miles west of Eureka. When this village sprang into existence, it was at the terminus of the railroad then known under the name and title of the Eastern Extension of the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad. It was completed to this point in the Fall of 1854, when the work ceased until some time the next year, and it was during this period that the idea of a village here was conceived by the people of the vicinity. The village was laid ont by a man named Akers, who bought the land of Hiram Parker, and was from Peoria. E. P. Pratt, also from Peoria,
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
brought the first stoek of goods to the place, which lic opened in one end of a grain warehouse just built by one Kellogg. A Mr. King also built a grain ware- house. A post office was established, and William Flager, who was then depot and station agent, was made the first Postmaster. After the opening of the store by Pratt, Charles Kinnear brought on a stock of goods, and after a year's business sold out to S. P. & B. N. Beels, and they afterward sold to Marshall Davidson. David Kinnear also had a store here at one time, and two stores at one time has been the zenith of its mercantile trade. It has now one general store, owned by F. J. Schreiber, who is also Postmaster. The grain trade is represented by J. N. Harlan and John Metzer, both of whom do a large business. Harlin was originally from Washington, and lives now in Eureka, but handles grain at this point. He owns a large grain elevator, which has been made from one of the warehouses alluded to, which he bought for $700, and the improve- ments he made to it and the construction into an elevator, cost him, additionally, $2,500. Its capacity is about 30,000 bushels. The railroad station house here was built by the people, en masse, in 1854, Mr. Charles Kinnear giving $200 toward its erection. A.blacksmith shop, kept by one Frank Schamberg, and one whisky saloon, together with what has been already mentioned, comprise the present village. The village took its name from William H. Cruger, Superinten- dent at that time of the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw, or, as then called, Extension of the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad. He was a man of some prominence and took an active part in getting the road through. When it stopped at this point, and, for the convenience of the neighborhood a station was made here, the name of Cruger was given to it. Later, when this township was detached from Olio, the name was bestowed on the township, as already mentioned in this chapter.
OLIO TOWNSHIP.
Until within the last decade of years, Olio comprised in its territorial limits Cruger Township, and their histories are so elosely identified with each other as to render it a somewhat difficult task to trace them separately. Much that is of interest pertaining to the early history of Woodford County occurred in this section. Walnut Grove-through which meanders the little creek of the same name-is embraced in these townships, and here tradition informs us some of the first settlements in the county were made. "The Grove," as it is still called, was a grand old forest, mostly walnut, whose friendly shelter seemed to lure the pioneers to the spot. Many of them were from Kentucky, where mighty forests, springs and streams of running water were so abundant that in the locating of their new homes, avoiding the great prairies, they sought the timber and water courses. To them the boundless prairies were but a dreary waste, affording no means of subsistence, nor any of the requisites of comfortable homes, and thus it was that the timbered sections were settled long before a pioneer's hut marked the prairies. Of the particular circumstances attending
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HISTORY OF WOODFORD COUNTY.
the separation from Olio, of Cruger Township, a more detailed account is given in the history of the latter.
Among the earliest settlers of Olio Township are William P. Atteberry, Charles, John A. and Campbell Moore, Caleb and William Davidson, John Dowdy, John Summers and Matthew Bracken. Of these, Atteberry, the Moores and Davidsons came from Kentucky. and Bracken from Ohio. Not one of them is now living.
Caleb Davidson was born in Barren County, Kentucky, and afterward removed to Graves County, in what is known in that State as " Jackson's Pur- chase," where he became the owner of considerable lands. In the Spring of 1831, he arrived in this portion of Woodford County. He was laid np at Macoupin's Point four weeks, on account of the " deep snow," already mentioned in these pages, as occurring in 1830-31, as a period from which the old settlers date many events of the county's early history, and was forced to go into camp again on this side of Springfield, where he remained six weeks, on account of the mud, resulting from the melting away of the snow, which rendered the country (roads there were none) almost impassable, so that he did not arrive at his future home until in May. He settled in Walnut Grove, near the present line between Olio and Cruger Townships. where he bought a claim of one Robert Bird. As already stated, he owned lands in Kentucky, and made several trips back to his old home, for the purpose of looking after his interests there. On one of his last visits, he sold 200 acres of his Kentucky land. He was an honored and respected citizen, and lived to a ripe old age, passing away in August, 1870. His wife is still living, but growing very feeble in health, and doubtless will soon join the companion of her earthly pilgrimage on the other shore.
William Davidson, the father of Caleb Davidson, was also a native of Barren County, Kentucky, but removed with the family to Graves County, where he lived till he came to Illinois in the Fall of 1831. He too, settled in Walnut Grove, and in what is now Olio Township. He bought land and made a per- manent settlement, upon which the remainder of his life was passed. His widow, who was a second wife, is now living in Missouri.
John Summers settled where he now lives in 1836. He is one of the few remaining old settlers of Olio Township. He was first President of the Old Set- tlers' Society, an office he held from its organization until the annual meeting of 1877, when he declined serving longer. He pointed out to us, on an adjoining farm, the house in which the first Conrt of Woodford County was held. He states that Hon. James A. McDougal was the first regular Commonwealth's Attorney, and afterward removed to California, from which State he was sent to the United States Senate.
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